Back with Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Travis Sanheim knows he's 'got to be better'

Travis Sanheim (57) was sent back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Monday after spending the first part of this season in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers. (CHRIS SHIPLEY/THE MORNING CALL / THE MORNING CALL)

With defenseman Travis Sanheim making the Philadelphia Flyers out of camp this past fall, it looked as if his days in the AHL were over.

One of the Flyers organization’s top defensive prospects had a goal of making the NHL out of camp and he did just that. After one successful season in Lehigh Valley, in which he played all 76 games and scored 10 goals while dishing out 27 assists, Sanheim graduated to Philadelphia.

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Most nights this season with the Flyers, he logged 14-17 minutes, playing in 35 of Philadelphia’s first 37 games. But starting with a Dec. 29 game against Tampa Bay, in which he didn’t play, Sanheim’s opportunity on the ice became almost non-existent.

Before getting sent down to Lehigh Valley Monday, Sanheim was in the press box nine of the last 10 games. The final game Sanheim suited up for the Flyers – a Jan. 13 contest against the Devils – he played just 6:02. That’s not a lot of time for a defenseman, especially when there are only five others in the lineup.

Last January, Sanheim was taking his game to the next level as an AHL rookie, turning into a much more complete player. This January, he played just one game over the month’s first 23 days and was demoted as the Flyers called up Mark Alt to take his place.

“Obviously I’ve got to be better, Sanheim said. “They were happy with the first half, but later in December, there’s obviously some games where I wasn’t at my best. I think that’s just as a young guy, you go through stages like that.”

Wednesday night he was back on the ice in Allentown. Phantoms coach Scott Gordon had no plans on easing him back into the lineup, saying he anticipated Sanheim logging 22 to 25 minutes of ice time. That was fine with Sanheim, who said on Tuesday after practice that rust wouldn’t be an issue.

“I’ve been working hard the past few weeks up there with their coaching staff,” Sanheim said. “Even practicing here the last few days I feel like I’m right back into it. Maybe the first period to shake off the rust, but I should be good from there.”

It shouldn’t take Sanheim very long for him to get his game back, especially if he racks up the minutes Gordon has planned.

“There are things about the game of hockey that are instinctive and the more you do it, the more you rep it out, the more confidence you have to make plays and all of a sudden you don’t play with tunnel vision,” Gordon said. “You see the big picture. You see everything. You’re not just puck-watching.”

When you have the long breaks in between games like Sanheim has had, Gordon said it’s possible you lose a little of that instinct because you start to become scared of making mistakes. Sanheim admitted he became extra focused on the defensive side of his games and not making a mistake; his offense, which is a big part of his game, suffered.

“When you come down here, we live a little more with the mistakes because we know that as long as you’re learning from the mistakes, you’re getting better,” Gordon said. “And he’s got a little more freedom to maybe play with a clearer mind than when he was up in Philadelphia just because of the pressure that sometimes you make a mistake, sometimes you don’t end up back out on the ice. And here, that’s not the case.”

Gaining confidence back will be the biggest key for Sanheim over his next few games with the Phantoms. That’s something Gordon said players build from playing a lot – which Sanheim will – and doing things correctly.

And Sanheim knows that. His main focus now is finding that confidence and taking it back to Philadelphia when an opportunity arises.